Many food and beverage products sold to the consuming public are provided in wide mouth jar-like containers. Consumers have indicated that they prefer containers which initially have a tamper-evident seal, and which can be resealed after opening for partial consumption of the contents. It is imperative that any such container have a seal which is leak-resistant from the time the lid is applied until end use by the consumer.
While seal integrity is important, the lid should allow for easy removal by the consumer. Therefore, it is imperative that a commercially-desirable container have a reliable seal and a lid which is easily removed, even if the container and its contents are frozen.
Conventional containers for frozen juice concentrate have been constructed with a cardboard sidewall and metallic end lids. This construction does not provide a container which is well suited for partial consumption of its contents and re-closure. Furthermore, removal of the lid from the frozen container is not always without difficulty.
With this in mind, containers made of plastic are well suited for frozen juice concentrates, and other consumer products. Plastic containers made from an injection-molded process could be used for this purpose, since their design provides precise manufacturing control of dimensions such as heights, depths, outside and inside diameters, wall thicknesses, etc. However, injection molded plastic containers are not currently being recycled and this is a major disadvantage of such containers. Blow molding processes for making plastic containers could be utilized, since such containers are easily recyclable. However, with blow molding techniques, dimensional tolerances are more difficult to control.
A problem associated with freezable blow-molded containers is the need to accommodate slight changes in configuration due to changes in volume as the liquid freezes after the container has been sealed with a lid . The container and lid seal must remain leak-resistant not only under these conditions, but also throughout transportation, and display, up to final usage by the consumer.
Some prior art examples of containers and cooperating lid designs having a tamper-evident tear strip and sealing arrangement may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,162,736; 4,166,552; 4,496,066; 4,589,561; 4,691,834; 4,699,287; 4,699,286; 4,798,301; 4,938,489; and 5,036,991.
Although various ones of the referenced containers and lids may function satisfactorily for their intended purposes, there is a need for a plastic container and lid which provides a leak-resistant seal capable of accommodating reductions and increases in volume of the container's contents. The lid should be tamper-resistant, easy to manipulate and capable of reuse on the container. Furthermore, such a container and lid should also be capable of being manufactured in high-speed equipment utilizing a minimum of plastic to minimize the cost of manufacture.